Various types of hand-held canes, staffs, sticks, and poles are utilized for various purposes. While their usage dates back millennia, modern usages are typical in various sports and activities such as skiing, walking, and hiking (or trekking, running, etc.). As many of these activities are centered on physical fitness, there have been a wide variety of efforts to increase the effectiveness of hand-held poles as workout tools by adding weights thereto.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,435 to Wilkinson, for example, weighted portions are added to either the bottom or handle of an adjustable-length exercise/sport pole to increase arm exercise functionality thereof. Similarly, in British Patent Application No. GB2490168A to Robinson, donut or disk-shaped weights are mounted to the bottom or top of an adjustable-length Nordic walking pole to achieve the same benefit. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,312 to McClendon, interior weights (steel balls) are similarly added to top or bottom portions of a multi-segment walking stick, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0145881 to Harroun weights are added to the bottom (interior) of an adjustable height therapeutic cane, and in U.S. Pat. No. 8,500,609 to Williams an attachable weight assembly for a pole is disclosed.
These and other attempts at providing weighted poles, while offering certain advantages, suffer from various deficiencies.